Tree Line
by ThinkingBeforeTalking
Summary: Trees and pancakes.


She was quiet this morning, Vic was decidedly not a morning person, especially on her day off.

Ruby had called earlier this morning, the forestry department was having trouble up on Twin Sister Ridge. The drive seemed longer than usual, maybe due to the lack of conversation.

"You know what I was going to do this morning?"

It seemed like a rhetorical question. But since this was the first thing she had said in an hour, I thought it best to offer something.

"What?"

"I was going to make myself a stack of fucking Pancakes ... with blueberries slathered in fucking syrup and a giant cup of icy mocha topped with fucking hazelnut."

I could tell she was still annoyed.

"Did you know I make the best pancakes? A secret recipe passed down the Moretti line through the generations?"

I had doubts about the validity of that statement but it was probably not a good idea to dispute it at such a sensitive time. So I nodded in agreement.

When we arrived at the ranger station, William Black Feather was waiting for us. He was a big tall man about 6 ft with a heavy set frame and jet black hair in his 60s but looked younger than me, an attribute he never failed to point out.

"Hey Walt, man did you have a couple of birthdays while I wasn't lookin'!"

He bellowed with his usual jovial demeanor, pulling me into a bear hug.

"Howdy Billy ... " I managed to eek out once he released me from his vice grip. I looked over my shoulder and Vic was amused, she smiled and reached to shake hands with William.

"This is my deputy ... Vic Moretti."

"Are you the reason Walt's been in a such a good mood lately?"

Like Henry, William Black Feather had no trouble charming the opposite sex.

"This is him in a good mood?"

They both laughed at my expense.

"What seems to be the trouble Billy?"

"Walt, you know the situation we got here ... I need to get these residents out but a few of them just won't budge. They're sittin' on their porches with rifles refusing to get out. I was thinkin' that if you could flash your badge, we could get them out quicker. Here's a map with a few of the families refusing to go."

I took the weathered map and gave it the once over. There were maybe five cabins all up.

"I'll try my best."

"Thanks Walt, I've got to head down the valley and clear some of those areas, so let me know how you go."

By the afternoon, we had managed to persuade four of the five families off the ridge into the safe zone. Thanks to Vic, most of the men folk only needed a little friendly persuasion from my deputy. Their wives, somewhat agitated, seemed more willing to remove their husbands from temptation.

The last cabin was the most remote, I didn't think anyone lived up there. Working our way up the ridge was taking a lot longer than expected due to the rough terrain. We stopped at a scenic spot for a break and a quick lunch.

"What's the problem with these trees?"

"Dead."

"Pine-beetles have pretty much destroyed all the trees over this ridge. It's a tinder box. The faster we get out the better."

It had been a particularly warm winter and pine-beetles, which usually died off at low temperatures, had feasted on these old beauties. It would be a strange sight to see this ridge and valley devoid of trees. Sometimes it's hard to imagine what you've lived with so long, change so suddenly.

"Uh Walt, what's that sound?"

There was an ominous tone to her question, snapping me out of my reverie. It was a familiar low grumble that trembled through the tree line.

"WE NEED TO GO NOW!"

I grabbed her arm and we ran as fast as we could down the hill. We didn't need to turn around to know the heat was coming from the fast approaching fireball behind us. Luckily, the scenic spot we had chosen included a stream that was still at least a couple of feet deep from the summer melt.

We jumped in and stayed under the water as the roar of flames lit up the whole ridge around us. The orange glow seemed to last forever and Vic struggled to hold her breath, she needed air now, her arms and legs flailed as I held her down in the water. Just a few more seconds.

When the worst was over, my body erupted out of water gasping for dear life. I turned around hoping to see Vic do the same, nothing. She was in the water, body still.

"VIC!"

I winched her limp form out of the stream and began CPR.

"No ... no ... c'mon Vic ... don't you leave me too ..."

Panic started to set in as I frantically continued CPR with no response. Suddenly, a gasp with several desperate coughs to expel the water in her lungs, her body jolted with the sudden intake of air. Relief set in and I grabbed hold of her and held her to my chest like life depended on it.

"Did I scare ya?"

She was smiling, obviously feeling a little better.

"Yeah, and don't ever do that again."

"Also ..." She took a few extra breaths. "... remind me to never ever go swimming with you again ..."

"It's customary when a patient drowns that they stay at the hospital overnight for observation!"

Doc Bloomfield was exasperated and losing his patience.

"But I'm fine. Look breathing and everything."

"Walt, can you talk some sense into her?"

Having received the death glare from my deputy, I offered the good doctor an alternative, which both he and the disgruntled patient gladly accepted.

"Vic! C'mon it's ready!

"Hold your horses! By the way, your cabin still needs work in the bathroom area."

I ignored her while I flipped the last couple of pancakes onto her plate.

I had promised doc Bloomfield that I'd keep an eye on her overnight at my place.

"Are you trying to show me up in the pancake department?"

She devoured the last morsel of pancake dripping with syrup.

"It's an old Longmire family recipe passed down through the generations."

"I didn't know you were that old."

We both laughed enjoying the moment. It was nice having someone to share breakfast with again. I could get used to this.

"How was the couch?"

"More comfortable than the floor."

Smiling as I tried to maintain our buoyant morning banter, but her eyes locked with mine and the tone of her voice took a more serious turn. She reached across the table for my hand and took a firm hold.

"Thanks for saving my life Walt."


End file.
